A device that prepares meals on demand in just 30 seconds and invented by Israeli entrepreneurs is being compared to the fabled "food replicator" made popular by the immortal TV series, Star Trek.
The Israeli invention goes by the name of Genie. It grants your wish for food just as long as you've got the "pod" of that particular meal available.
Genie is about the size and appearance of a coffee maker. It can produce an unlimited variety of meals using pods that contain natural dehydrated ingredients.
Genie pods contain 140 grams of different kinds of food in recyclable containers. They're similar to pods that contain coffee for espresso machines but are larger in size.
Once activated, Genie begins mixing, shaking and adding the required liquids from tubes on its back. This process bakes or cooks the desired dish.
The pods have all-natural, freeze-dried ingredients. Genie can cook food in a pod in 30 seconds. The pods have a shelf-life of between one and two years, said the Jerusalem Post.
Meals can be prepared on demand and the size of the portions substantially limits waste. Genie needs to be activated by a mobile app.
Genie was developed by Israeli entrepreneurs Ayelet Carasso and Doron Marco.
"The dish can be anything, it can be a meal like chicken with rice, like couscous with vegetable or an amazing Ramen or even a chocolate soufflé or any other desert that you want", said Carasso.
"We're using only natural ingredients, we're not using any preservatives or anything that people add to their meals," she added.
The team said they're working on expanding Genie's capabilities Genie will initially be sold to restaurants and cafes and later on to individuals.
Marco said Genie is the first step in the evolution of food technology and believes getting a meal in a pod will be available in the not too distant future.
Genie is expected to cost several hundred U.S. dollars. The inventors said the pods will be priced so they are comparable to a meal, snack or dessert.
Aboard the starship USS Enterprise on Star Trek, replicators are used to synthesize meals on demand and are activated by voice commands.
A video of Genie can be seen here.